Chris Oney new River men''s hoops assistant

Press Release Archive

POPLARVILLE Chris Oney has joined the men coaching staff at Pearl River Community College for the 2011-2012 season, according to PRCC athletic director and men head coach Richard Mathis. Oney hiring was approved by the PRCC Board of Trustees at their monthly meeting held here Tuesday. He arrives at Pearl River via Grambling State University in Grambling, La., where he served as recruiting and scheduling and travel coordinator for the past year. He also boasts assistant collegiate coaching stints at Louisiana-Monroe, Nicholls State (La.), and Ole Miss. Were fortunate to get somebody as qualified as Chris, Mathis said. He has a long list of accomplishments as a player and a coach and will do an excellent job for us. Oney is a 1994 graduate of McCall High School in Tallulah, La., where he earned district Most Valuable Player honors on the hard court his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons. After his graduation, he spent one year at Texas A&M before transferring to Ole Miss where he played from 1995 through 1998 under head coach Rob Evans. While on the Rebel squad, Ole Miss grabbed a No. 13 national ranking and earned three straight berths in the NCAA Tournament. Oney earned his bachelor of arts degree from Ole Miss in 1998 and his master of arts-education from Louisiana College in 2008. He served as a graduate assistant under Evans at Ole Miss (1999-2000) before moving on to Nicholls State as a full-time assistant as recruiting coordinator, academic coordinator, and camp coordinator for the 2000-2001 season. From 2001 through 2004, he was an assistant coach at Louisiana-Monroe in Monroe, La., where he was recruiting coordinator and academic counselor. L-M earned berths in the Southland Conference Tournament all four seasons. Oney was head coach at Carroll County High School in Monroe from 2005 through 2008. His 2007-2008 squad was the District 2-4A champions and finished the season at 36-5 and ranked No. 38 by USA Today. Oney was district Coach of the Year that season. All told, he was 60-15 during his Carroll County stint. From 2008 through 2010, Oney was head coach at Grambling Lab High School, boasting a two-year record of 43-12. His men team was district champions in 2008. Last year at Grambling State, the men team made it to the SWAC Tournament finals for the first time in school history. Oney and his wife, Christan, are the parents of a four-year-old daughter, Camryn. Mathis, who enters his 21st season with the Wildcats this fall, has guided Pearl River to five MACJC state titles 1994-95, 1997-98, 2003-04, 2004-05, and last year. In addition, he has won two other state championships a men title at Northeast Mississippi in Booneville and a women title at his alma mater East Mississippi in Scooba. Jason Francis is also an assistant coach with the Wildcat squad.